Tatoo
by Madam Rose
Summary: The life and libertys of being a best friend are the roughest blessing anyone can have.  Eli, and atheist, is about to find out just how blessed he truly is from the moment he meets Clarabelle Edwards.  It's love at first sight.
1. Chapter 1

Elijah sat watching the people stroll around the green lawn of the park on a clear July afternoon. The music in his ears soothed his ravaged soul as he felt the loneliness creep into his pores as it usually did. His signature black coloring made the paleness of his skin glow in the bright sunlight against his jet black hair. Elijah turned his head and his eyes glowed like emeralds in the dancing rays of the sun. He truly was a beautiful creature to look at when he was here.

The water gracefully twirled in ripples next to him after every pebble was thrown in, and the tree blocked many unwarranted glares at the goth-kid. He had just turned seventeen, and while he was smart enough to know his age legally put him as a "child", he had the soul of a well traveled man. He had seen too much not to.

Many pedestrians passed him without thought, some actually gave him the cross sign, and many blah, blah, blah. It was grotesque how these people thought he should care about their every thought. How he should listen to what others say because they think they are smarter than him, and more wizened.

He was himself, and no one could stop that.

A beautiful girl ran past him at top speed and dropped to the ground next to him. She leaned back against a tree and sniffled, and shook her body uncontrollably. Her curls hung down to her waist in swirls of cinnamon, and her skin was pale; just like Elijah's.

Elijah looked in shock at the girl and turned his music off. "Excuse me ma'am, forgive me for saying this, but he probably was worth it. I mean you weren't worth it. I mean, ugh! I'm sorry I've never tried to comfort someone before… Let me try this again. He wasn't, no, isn't worth it. Hold your tears for someone who truly makes you cry of happiness, don't settle for a fool who was too stupid to realize what he had."

The girl looked at him with eyes of the clearest sapphires, smiling gently at the flustered teenager and wiping her red face. She laughed with him in jest, knowing he was full of good intention. She stuck her hand out and said, "My name is Clarabelle Edwards. Thank you for trying to help me ..?"

He quickly stuck out his hand and gave his infamous smirk, "Elijah Goldsworthy, but please call me Eli."

She smiled in return, "Well Elijah please-call-me Eli whatever shall we do now that I've been completely embarrassed and you are just sitting here next to a freak?" He laughed with her and smiled, "You do see how I dress correct? Who is the freak in this short relationship?"

Her smile never left her face, but her eyes shone with a stern seriousness. "How you express yourself is who you, not everyone is shallow enough to wear Aeropostale and Hollister. If you feel blue why wear pink? If you like the color black I most certainly am not going to tell you you're not aloud to wear it."

That was the moment he knew Clare Edwards was the most beautiful kindhearted person in the world.

3 Years Later

"Clare! Do you have the drawings from my portfolio with you? The ones of the kids and you at Time Square?" Clare and Eli were what you would call "Best Friends" even though both were obviously pissed at this predicament. Clare had resorted to stealing Eli's artwork to get him to spend even more time with her, and Eli put his artwork in places she went everyday so he could spend time with her as well.

"YEA! What's it worth you think? What will you give me for it Eli?" Dancing down the stairs like the pixie she was, Clare jumped in front of him with her hands behind her back mockingly. Her cinnamon curls were now cut in a fashionable sleek bob that framed her face beautifully and made her look all the more innocent.

"**Maybe a kiss", **they both thought simultaneously.

"What do you want you little minx", Eli said falsely mocking her. "Hmm.. decisions decisions", she said jokingly. "Ugh, no more twilight for you Curious Clare."

She crinkled her nose in the most adorable way, making him crookedly smile at her in wait. "Well? What's it going to be Clare, the stereo, my dead hand shirt, what?" Smiling gently, she sidled over to him and winked. "Please tell me what you hide in your safe upstairs."

Eli's eyes went round in nervousness because, obviously, he was not going to tell her how he kept every picture, every video, and ever single thrice damned little bobble she bought him in there. A man had nothing except his pride, his loyalty, and the secrets he'd sworn never to tell her. "Clare anything else you may have with no complaints, but sorry you won't get in there."

Puppy eyes met his statement. "Fine, can we have ice cream tonight then? If not for me, think of the poor children. They look up to you, and if you disappoint them by not giving them their undoubtedly needed sugar rush."

Eli gave her a "I absolutely could care less look," but when uncle Eli heard the pitter-patter of little feet upon the stairs he knew there was no chance of him getting out of this one. Those little devils could make him sell his soul to the devil if they truly wanted to; they were just like their mother.

"Ice Ceem, Ice Ceem!" The two deviants charged down the stairs as fast as their little legs would take them and plowed into Eli at full force. "Ice Ceem, daddy, Ice Ceem!" The two children were beautiful. As fraternal twins they shared few similarities, but the scary thing was one of them looked liked Eli. Eli clearly was not the biological father.

Keira Isabelle Edwards, also known as Bella, had flowing black hair the curled in ringlets down her back to her waist. Her eyes glowed a sapphire blue just like her moms, but she had an unnatural paleness to her. She took after Eli in that regard. Rylan Sean Edwards, also known as Rye, had straight hair that fell in a longish style to his eyes. His hair was cinnamon color in contrast to his beautiful emerald eyes.

The children both looked to the man before them and smiled mischievously. "Prty peez daddy," said Keira with those big puppy eyes. Ryaln smiled his gapped smile and said, "I'll be reelllllll gud. I pomise." Eli, having absolutely no restraint when it came to the children he considered his own crouched down and whispered in a mock-quiet voice, "Who ever gets mommy to laugh the hardest will get ice cream. The other will have to watch the winner consume both of your favorite dessert. Ready?" Both children took on a very serious face and stood ready for battle.

"GO!"

The children sprinted as fast as their little legs would carry them and tickled their mother ruthlessly. "AHHH WHAT ARE YOU TWO MONSTERS DOING? THAT TICKLES!"

Mercilessly the two rugrats tickled her until tears came to her eyes and she had trouble breathing. Eli finally came to his senses and called for a halt on the laugh-fest, giving a breather to his beautiful bestie. "Come on munchkins, you both will get ice cream anyways. Geez, you'd think I'd have offered world peace or something." Eli leaned over to help Clare up from the floor. She dusted her blue floral dress off and mock glared at him. "Elijah," he cringed. "Where do you get off in telling my children to tickle me for ice cream, when I have the authority to tell them no ice cream at all hmm?"

Eli grinned at the radiant red head, "Sweetheart I'm more afraid of them then I am of you. You can tell them they won't get ice cream, I'll be over there behind the door." Clare shot him a sarcastic "suuuuure" look, and Eli just shrugged.

"Kids, we aren't getting ice cream your uncle Eli was just being mean. Come on, we'll have a big bowl of fruit and watch some television." The kids came in the house sharing a striking resemblance of the children from the Ring, and the Omen. With heads turned toward the ground, and shadows on their face their appearance was frighteningly horrific. "ICE CEEEM NOW! ICE CEEM! ICE CEEM! ICE CEEM! WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Clare put her hands over her ears in agony. "Fine, fine, fine we'll get the darn ice cream. Just stop screaming. ELI! GET THE KEYS PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE."

Eli walked over to his favorite person smirking. "You handled that real well Miss Clarabelle Edwards; I bow to your superior ways with the children."

Clare glared at Eli as she walked out of the house behind the jumping toddlers. "Bite me, Elijah." Eli dangled the keys in his hands, swinging them. "Where would you like me to do that Edwards?"

Clare just blushed.

Eli just about drooled.

The kids just killed the mood.


	2. Chapter 2

"You know, it's not fair that I always end up being the one who's ice cream is 'taste tested' for poison," Elijah said pointedly to the innocent looking Clare.

"Wouldn't want you to die, Goldsworthy. At least not yet," she said smiling at the black clad man. "Where would the fun be in that?"

Elijah snorted at the little girl who had the power to turn his usually hard exterior into a face full of smiles, and a heart full of warmth.

Clare continued to eat her strawberry yogurt as Eli took the last bite of his chocolate cone.

"You know," he said looking at her funny. "I didn't even ask you why you got strawberry this time. You always get vanilla ice cream."

Clare shrugged her shoulders, "I'm on a diet."

Elijah laughed. And laughed. And kept laughing.

"Oh, that's rich. Why oh why would Ms. Clarabelle Edwards randomly decide to go on a diet? Hm? Are the atrociously catty and ugly women at the school giving you a hard time? They want you to lose weight so you will be the only one in there that doesn't look like a bird of prey?"

Clare turned her head away from him, not wanting him to see the red stain of anger teasing her cheeks.

"Eli… just stop."

"No Clare," he said continued. "Seriously tell me why, I mean I can't think of any other reason you would need to lose weight. I mean you work part-time as a waitress at the diner, you're a full-time mom, and to top it all off, you're going to college every night! I mean, come on superwoman, you need sustenance in your body."

"I want a love life too, Elijah! And to do that I need to lose all this extra weight I gained over the years, I mean Gosh, can you at least be a little sympathetic to my case, here?"

He looked at her weirdly, like she had spouted two heads or something, "What now, Elijah? Are you coming up with some other reason I should 'feed myself?' I mean I am woman enough to want a love life, and obviously what I have been doing isn't enough. I am graduating next year, and hopefully having more children on top of a career. I need to look the part."

Elijah strained, "But- Clare?"

Clare yelled, "What?"

"You're perfect. Any guy who doesn't like you because of your weight is a dumbass, and I myself prefer not to associate with dumbasses. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer intelligence to beauty. Also, since when have you wanted a relationship with a guy, _like that?_ I thought you'd sworn off men since, well, you know."

Clare's face fell a little, "I'm not perfect, but maybe someone will like me if I'm skinny. Who really would want me as I am? A fat, mother of two, who can barely hold a job, raise her kids, and go to school for them. If I didn't have you, I would probably have dropped from exhaustion by now, and I'd be homeless. And I don't even want to know about where the kids would-."

Elijah put his hands to her cheeks and looked deeply into her tear-brimmed eyes, "Please don't finish that sentence, Clare. You are perfect, the children are wonderful, and we've have done all we can. Why change that? Why worry about that what ifs? That seems out-of-character for you."

Clare let a tear fall down her pale cheek, "I'm sorry Eli. It's just stress."

She looked over to the children who were screaming and running around with the other kid in the park. She smiled gently, "I don't know what would have happened, though. I praise God and say prayers everyday to Him, in thanks for my miracle."

Eli looked at her with a sarcastic smirk, "Well, they can be little devils when they don't get their way."

Clare shook her head in agreement and threw her forgotten treat away in the garbage without standing, which made Eli let her face go.

"They are miracles, Eli. But you were the miracle I was referring to."

Elijah smiled tightly, "I think you were my miracle there, Blue Eyes."

Clare shook her head adamantly, "No Eli, you were mine. Don't you see, without you-. Well, let's not get all sentimental. I will say this though."

She looked into his eyes with a fierce stare, "You made me breathe again. You were the air I got after a long time of holding it around the people I thought were my family. No matter if the children call you Uncle Eli, like I do, or not, you are the only father I would want for them. Not KC. You. Whether they are yours by birth or by soul, I don't care. I couldn't have asked for a better figure in their life and for that I thank you."

Elijah grabbed Clare's hand and started to play with her fingers while trying to look anywhere but at her. He rubbed her wrist and she hissed out a breath. Eli looked down at her pale palm and glared at the offending mark etched to her skin.

"Clare, is that a tattoo?"

Clare breathed out a sigh of relief as she heard the familiar screams of her children running towards her, "Mommy look! A bug!"

"Daddy, make him get away from MEEEEE!"

Elijah looked at her, saying with his eyes, _we will finish this later._

Clare just sighed. How was she supposed to tell him how she felt? Maybe she could get drunk again or something. That worked last time. She told the tattoo artist all about how she felt about her little Ewija.

She groaned, this actually might be something better done cold stone sober, or at the very least, quick and painless.

Unless he didn't love her back.


End file.
